two years old. The mother, Mrs.
Sophia (Weidmann) Broking, is still living, making her
home with her children at Pleasant Ridge, Ill., and is
now about sixty-four years of age.
Our subject was the second in a
family of nine children born to his parents, and was
the third to land on American soil. He employed
himself on a farm for two years thereafter, then
crossed the Mississippi into this county, and remained
a single man for a period of ten years thereafter. He
finally met his fate in the person of Miss Ida
Weillsandt, a native of his own Province in Germany,
and who was born Jan. 10, 1858. She came when a child
of six years with her parents to America, they
proceeding directly westward and settling in Rock
Creek Precinct, this county, where they now live and
where they have built up a good homestead.
To Mr. and Mrs. Broking there have
been born six children, one of whom, a son, John, died
in infancy. The survivors are Sophia, Emma, Ida, Mary,
and a babe named Harry. Mr. Broking is an
uncompromising Democrat, and, with his excellent wife,
is a member in good standing of the Lutheran Church.
He is regarded among his neighbors as one of the most
useful members of their community, a man prompt to
meet his obligations and straightforward in his
business transactions.

OL.
HENRY CLAY FERGUSON, who served with distinction in
the Union Army, making a most commendable war record,
and being a well-known and highly esteemed citizen of
Otoe County, it is fitting that his portrait should
appear in this volume. He sought the new State of
Nebraska March 25, 1876, and has since been a resident
of this county. He is widely and favorably known as a
gentleman of more than ordinary capabilities, a useful
and enterprising citizen, and one enjoying the esteem
and confidence of his community.
The native place of our subject was
about twelve miles north of Louisville, Ky., in Clark
County, Ind., where his birth took place Nov. 10,
1833. His father, Benjamin. Ferguson, had settled
there about 1816, and was not only one of the earliest
pioneers of that region, but one of the leading men of
Clark County. He represented the county in the Indiana
Legislature four terms, and was otherwise prominently
identified with local and political matters. He
married Miss Sarah Hay, a native of that county, and a
daughter of one of the lending families. She was born
in 1801, and was a lineal descendant of the Wood
family, which held such an important position during
the early history of Clark County. She was left a
widow by the death of the father in 1839, when he was
but forty-nine years of age, and when their son Henry
C. was a little lad of six years. The mother survived
her husband fourteen years, her death taking place at
the old homestead in Clark County, in 1852, when she
was fifty-one years old.
The nine children of the parental
family are recorded as follows: Samuel H. and John D.
died at the ages of forty-three and thirty-eight
respectively; Charles P., a man of fine abilities, is
now Judge of the Fourth Judicial District of Indiana,
and a resident of Jeffersonville, Ind.; Sarah died
when fifty years old; Margaret and Benjamin are also
residents of Indiana; Henry C., our subject, was the
seventh in order of birth; William F. died at the age
of thirty-nine years, at Indianapolis, and Adeline is
the wife of Thomas Reynolds, and resides in
Illinois.
The first recollections of our
subject are of a time when he was a boy strolling
along the banks of the Ohio River. He acquired his
early education in the common schools, and was
deprived by death of his mother before reaching his
majority. Soon after reaching his twenty-first year he
engaged in the drug trade in partnership with his
brother William, combining also with this general
merchandise, and was thus occupied until the outbreak
of the Civil War.
Under the call for 75,000
three-months men, young Ferguson in April, 1861,
organized a company, and on the 25th of that month
reported with them for orders to Gov. Morton. The
quota under this call having already been completed,
and his company not needed for this department of the
service, he and his men enlisted for three years in
the regular army, being among the first to enter the
ranks for this length of time. Our subject was

538

OTOE COUNTY.

given a Captain's commission, and he
assumed the position as commander of Company I, which
was made a part of the 23d Indiana Infantry. They were
sent to the front at Paducah, Ky., arriving there on
the 15th of August, and were among the first troops to
take possession of that place. They remained there
under drill until the opening of the campaign of 1862,
when the regiment was assigned to the command of Gen.
Lew Wallace at Ft. Henry, and our subject engaged in
regular battle on the second day of the fight at
Shiloh. Later he fought in the engagement at Iuka, and
in the winter following they retired to Memphis.
On account of meritorious conduct
Capt. Ferguson on the 19th of February following was
unanimously elected by the officers of his regiment a
Major, and thereafter distinguished himself in the
siege of Vicksburg, his regiment belonging to the 17th
Army Corps under the gallant Gen. McPherson. In the
division of Gen. Logan on the 22d of May, Maj.
Ferguson led the grand charge at Ft. Hill, which was
attended by heavy loss, and during which he was
slightly wounded in the left hand. From that time on
he was in every engagement of the 17th Army Corps, and
was wounded twice afterward, the second time in the
engagement with the rebels at Ft. Hill. In 1864 he
accompanied the Army of the Tennessee under command of
Gen. Sherman from Vicksburg to Meridian, which
constituted the Mississippi campaign. He also bore an
honorable part in the Atlanta campaign. He was at
Atlanta in August, 1864, the day before the
surrender.
Maj. Ferguson was tendered the rank
of Colonel of the regiment at that time, but thinking
that he could be of more service in another direction
he declined, and returning home assisted in the
reconstruction of the 144th Indiana Infantry, of which
he was elected Lieutenant Colonel, and which was
subsequently known as the 1st Brigade, 1st Division,
Army of the Shenandoah. They operated mostly around
Winchester and Harper's Ferry, and at the close of the
war were mustered oat on the 15th of August, 1865, at
Indianapolis. Our subject had thus given four years to
the service of his country, and had made for himself a
record which he may look upon wit pardonable pride. He
was imbued with that true spirit of patriotism which
was willing to face danger and even death for the
results to be obtained.
We append the following letter,
which attests the bravery and courage of Col.
Ferguson:

"REAR
OF VICKSBURG,
MISS.
"May 31, 1863.

"MAJ.
HENRY C.
FERGUSON, 23d Indiana Vol.
Volunteers, Sir--I have been delegated to
present to you a sword, the gift of the members of
Company I, 23d Indiana Volunteers, of which you were
formerly Captain. It was with feelings of regret that
they parted with you as their company commander, only
compensated by the fact that you had received
promotion to a higher position, which you so
deservedly merited. This gift, then, is not only made
to you by them as a mark of that respect and esteem
which they bold for you as their former commander, and
which they still entertain for you in your present
position, but as a testimonial to that patriotism and
love of country which you have shown by a faithful
performance of your duties as an officer. and to the
coolness, courage and bravery which you have evinced
by so boldly facing danger on the battle-fields of
Shiloh, Port Gibson, Raymond, Champion Hills and
Vicksburg.
In their behalf, then, I tender you
this gift of their love, respect and esteem, feeling
confident that no act of yours will ever allow it to
be tarnished, coming as it does from those with whom
you were so long and intimately associated.

"Very respectfully yours,
"B. F. WALTER."

At the close of the war Col.
Ferguson returned to the quiet pursuits of agriculture
in Clark County. While home on a veteran furlough he
had been married, April 21, 1864, to Miss Margaret
McAfee, who was born near Rockford, Ind., Dec. 22,
1837. Mrs. Ferguson is a highly accomplished lady, and
a daughter of the late Dr. Clark McAfee, who was a
prominent member of the medical profession of
Kentucky, and a member of the noted family of that
name in the Blue Grass regions. The mother was in her
girlhood Miss Margaret Huckleberry. Dr. McAfee died in
1838. His widow is now living with her daughter, the
wife of Col. Ferguson. Their family consisted of one
daughter only, Mrs. Ferguson.